Projection objective for microlithography

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a projection lens comprising a lens assembly that has at least one first narrowing of the group of light beams. A lens with a non-spherical surface is located in front of and/or behind the first narrowing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of PCT/EP99/10233, filed Dec. 21, 1999 which is pending.

German Applications DE. 198 55 108A, DE 198 55 157A, and DE 198 55 158A, in which the Applicant participate are incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERAL SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a projection objective with a lens arrangement, which can be divided into six lens groups. The first, third, and sixth lens groups have positive power and the second and fourth lens groups respectively have negative power. The division of the lens system into lens groups is described in more detail hereinafter, based on the direction of propagation of the radiation.

The first lens group is positive and ends with a lens of positive power. A bulge is formed by the first lens group; it is unimportant if negative lenses are also arranged in the bulge.

The second lens group is of negative total power. This second lens group has as its first lens a lens having a concave lens surface toward the image. This second lens group substantially describes a waist. Here, also it is not of substantial importance if a few positive lenses are included in the second lens group, as long as the waist is maintained

The third lens group begins with a lens having positive power and a convex lens surface on the image side, and which can be a meniscus. If a thick meniscus lens is provided as the first lens, the separation of the lens groups can be considered to be within the lens.

The fourth lens group is of negative power. This fourth lens group begins with a lens of negative power, followed by several lenses having negative power A waist is formed by this lens group. It is unimportant if lenses having positive power are also contained within this lens group, as long as these influence the course of the beam over only a short distance and thus the waisted shape of the fourth lens group is maintained.

The fifth lens group has positive power overall. The first lens of this fifth lens group has a convex lens surface on the image side. A bulge is formed by the fifth lens group.

After the lens of maximum diameter (the bulge), there follow at least an additional two positive lenses in the fifth lens group, further negative lenses also being permitted.

The sixth lens group is likewise positive in its total power. The first lens of the sixth lens group is negative and has on the image side of concave lens surface. This first lens of the sixth lens group has a considerably smaller diameter in comparison with the maximum diameter of the bulge.

2. Background Art

Such projection objectives are in particular used in microlithography. They are known, for example, from the German Applications DE 198 55 108A, DE 198 55 157A, and DE 198 55 158A, in which the Applicant participated, and from the state of the art cited therein. These documents are incorporated herein by reference.

These projection objectives are usually constructed from purely spherical lenses, since the production and testing technology is advantageous for spheres.

Projection objectives are known from German Application DE 198 18 444 A1 which have lenses having aspheric surfaces in at least the fourth or fifth lens group. An increase of the numerical aperture and of the image quality can be attained by means of the aspheric surfaces. The projection objectives shown have a length from the mask plane to the image plane of 1,200 mm to 1,500 mm. A considerable use of material is associated with this length. High production costs are entailed by this use of material, since because of the required high image quality only high quality materials can be used. Aspheric lenses up to a diameter of about 300-mm are required, the provision of which is particularly expensive. It is not at all clear in the technical world whether aspheric lenses with such large lens diameters can be provided in the required quality. “Aspheric surfaces” are understood to include all surfaces which are not spherical and which are rotationally symmetrical. Rotationally symmetrical splines can also be considered as aspheric lens surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention has as its object to provide a projection objective which has as few lenses as possible, with reduced use of material, the aspheric lens surfaces used being as few and as small as possible, with the lowest possible asphericity. A high aperture projection objective of short structure is to be cost-efficiently provided in this way.

The object of the invention is attained in particular by a projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of the second lens group, particularly the last lens of the second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of the third lens group, particularly the first lens of the third lens group, has an aspheric surface. In addition, the object of the invention is attained by a projection objective having a lens arrangement having at least a first waist of a pencil of rays, wherein the lens arrangement comprises at least one of the following a lens having an aspheric surface arranged before the first waist, a lens having an aspheric surface arranged after the first waist, and lenses having aspheric surfaces arranged before and after the first waist.

In a projection objective with a lens arrangement, by the measure of providing, in the forward half of this lens arrangement, at least one lens provided with an aspheric lens surface, the possibility was realized of furnishing a projection objective of compact construction and having a high image quality.

In the division of this lens arrangement into six lens groups: a first lens group having a positive power, a second lens group a negative power, a third lens group a positive power, a fourth lens group a negative power, and a fifth and sixth lens group respectively a positive power, a preferred position of the aspheric surface is at the end of the second lens group. It is then arranged, in particular, on the last lens of the second lens group or at the beginning of the third lens group, and indeed preferably on the first lens of the third lens group. A correction of image errors in the region between the image field zone and the image field edge is possible by means of this aspheric lens surface. In particular, the image errors of higher order, which become evident on considering sagittal sections, can be corrected. Since these image errors apparent in sagittal section are particularly difficult to correct, this is a particularly valuable contribution. In an advantageous embodiment, only one lens has an aspheric surface. This has a positive effect on the production costs, since it is the production of highly accurate aspheric surfaces that requires considerable technological effort, which entails increased costs. It was only with the use of exactly one aspheric lens that it was possible to provide a very compact objective, in which case the additional costs for the aspheric lens are not important, since considerable cost savings were connected with the reduction of the required material and of the surfaces to be processed and tested.

By the measure of providing lens arrangement that bas at least a first waist, an aspheric surface before and an aspheric surface after the waist, a lens arrangement is produced which makes possible a high numerical aperture with high image quality, particularly for the DUV region. In particular, it is possible by the use of these aspheric surfaces to furnish a projection objective of short structure and high image quality. Objectives used in microlithography generally have a high material density over their whole length, so that the reduction of the length is connected with a considerable saving of material. Since only very high-grade materials can be used for projection objectives, particularly for microlithography, the required use of material has a severe effect on the production costs.

The aspheric surface arranged before the first waist can be arranged at the end of the first lens group or at the beginning of the second lens group. Furthermore, it has been found to be advantageous to arrange an aspheric surface, arranged after the first waist, on the last lens of the second lens group or on the first lens of the third lens group.

The aspheric surface provided before the first waist in particular makes possible a targeted correction of coma in the region of the image field zone. This aspheric lens surface has only a slight effect on the skew spherical aberration in tangential section and in sagittal section. In contrast to this, the skew sagittal aberration, particularly in the region between the image field zone and image field edge, can be corrected by the aspheric lens surface after the waist.

The provision of a second aspheric lens surface is thus a worthwhile measure, in order to counter at high numerical aperture a reduction of image quality due to coma

In a few cases of application, particularly with very high numerical aperture, it has been found to be favorable to provide a projection objective wherein the third lens group has a lens having an aspheric surface, and, in particular, the last lens of the third lens group has an aspheric surface.

It has been found to be advantageous to provide a first lens in the sixth lens group with an aspheric surface for a further correction of coma, especially in the region of the image filed edge. For this aspheric lens surface the first lens of the sixth lens group has been found to be a particularly well suited position.

Furthermore, the numerical aperture can be increased, at constant image quality, by the provision of a further aspheric surface on the last lens of the third lens group.

It is an advantage of the invention to provide a refractive microlithographic projection objective, wherein all aspheric lens surfaces have a vertex radius (R) of at least 300-mm. Thus the aspheric surfaces are provided on long radii, since the production and testing is easier for lens surfaces with long radii. These surfaces are easily accessible to processing equipment because of their low curvature. In particular, surfaces with long radii are accessible with Cartesian coordinates for tactile measurement processes.

It bas been found to be advantageous to use at least two different materials for achromatization, for projection objectives designed for an illumination wavelength of less than 200 nm, because of the stronger dispersion of the lenses, even with the use of narrow-band light sources. In particular, fluorides, especially CaF₂, are known as suitable materials, besides quartz glass.

It has been found to be advantageous to provide at least two leases of CaF₂, which are arranged before an aperture stop in the fifth lens group, for the correction of color transverse errors.

It has been found to be advantageous for the fourth correction of color errors to integrate an achromat after the aperture stop by means of a positive CaF₂ lens and a following negative quartz lens. This arrangement has a favorable effect on the correction of the spherical portions. In particular, longitudinal color errors can be corrected by the lenses after the aperture stop.

A reduction of the longitudinal error already results in general from the shortening of the length of the projection objective. Thus a good achromatization with a reduced use of CaF₂ lenses can be attained with the objective according to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in more detail hereinafter with the aid of preferred embodiments, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a projection exposure device;

FIG. 2 shows a lens section through a first lens arrangement of a projection objective with an aspheric lens surface;

FIG. 3 shows a lens section through a second lens arrangement, which has two aspheric lens surfaces;

FIG. 4 shows a lens section through a third lens arrangement, which has throe aspheric lens surfaces;

FIGS. 5a-5 g illustrate tangential transverse aberrations;

FIGS. 6a-6 g illustrate sagittal transverse aberrations;

FIGS. 7a-7 f illustrate groove errors of the third lens arrangement with the aid of sections;

FIG. 8 shows a lens section through a fourth lens arrangement, which has three aspheric surfaces;

FIG. 9 shows a lens section through a fifth lens arrangement, which has four aspheric surfaces;

FIG. 10 shows a lens section through a sixth lens arrangement, which has four aspheric surfaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The principle of the construction of a projection exposure device is first described with the aid of FIG. 1. The projection exposure device 1 has an illuminating device 3 and a projection objective 5. The projection objective includes a lens arrangement 19 with an aperture stop AP, an optical axis 7 being defined by the lens arrangement 19. A mask 9 is arranged between the illuminating device 3 and the projection objective 5 and is supported in the beam path by means of a mask holder 11. Such masks 9 used in microlithography have a micrometer to nanometer structure in which is reduced by means of the projection objective 5 by a factor of up to 10, particularly a factor of four, and is imaged on an image plane 13. A substrate positioned by a substrate holder 17 or a wafer 15 is supported in the image plane 13. The minimum structures which are still resolvable depend on the wavelength λ of the light used for illumination, and also on the numerical aperture of the projection objective 5, the maximum attainable resolution of the projection exposure device 1 increasing with decreasing wavelength of the illuminating device 3 and with increasing numerical aperture of the projection objective 5.

The projection objective 5 contains, according to the invention, at least one aspheric surface to provide a high resolution.

Various embodiments of lens arrangements 19 are shown in FIGS. 2-4 and 8-10.

These projection objectives 5 designed for more stringent requirements for image quality and for resolution, and in particular their lens arrangement 19, are described in more detail hereinafter. The data of the individual lenses L101-130, L201-230, L301-330, L401-429, L501-529, L601-629, can be found in detail in the associated tables. All the lens arrangements 19 have at least one aspheric lens surface 27.

These aspheric surfaces are described by the equation: ${P(h)} = {{\frac{\delta \cdot h \cdot h}{1 + \sqrt{1 - {\left( {1 - {EX}} \right) \cdot \delta \cdot \delta \cdot h \cdot h}}} + {C_{1}h^{4}} + \ldots + {C_{n}h^{{{2n} + 2}\quad}\quad \delta}} = {1\text{/}R}}$

in which P is the arrow height as a function of the radius h (height to the optical axis 7) with the aspheric constants C₁ through C_(n) given in the Tables. R is the vertex angle given in the Tables.

The lens arrangement 19 shown in FIG. 2 has 29 lenses L101-L129 and a plane parallel plate L-130. This lens arrangement 19 can be divided into six lens groups, which are denoted by LG1 for the first lens group through LG6 for the sixth lens group. The first, fifth and sixth lens groups have positive refractive power, while the second lens group LG2 and the fourth lens group LG4, by which a first waist 23 and a second waist 25 are formed, have negative refractive power. This lens arrangement 19 is designed for the wavelength λ=193.3 nm which is produced by a KrF excimer laser, and has an aspheric lens surface 27. A structure width of 0.10 μm is resolvable with this lens arrangement 19 at a numerical aperture of 0.75. On the object side, the light transmitted by the lens arrangement propagates in the form of a spherical wavefront. In the objective, the greatest deviation from the ideal wavefront, also denoted by the RMS factor, is 10.4 mλ with respect to the wavelength λ=193.3 nm. The image field diagonal is 28 mm. The constructional length from mask plane to object plane is only 1,000 mm, and the maximum diameter of a lens is 235 mm.

In this embodiment, this aspheric lens surface 27 is arranged on the side of the lens L110 remote from the illumination device.

The projection objective having the previously mentioned good performance data could for the first time be furnished with the use of this aspheric lens surface 27. This aspheric lens surface 27 serves to correct image and reduce the required constructional length, with image quality remaining constant. In particular, image errors of higher order in the region between the image zone and image field edge are corrected here by this aspheric surface 27. This correction brings about, in particular, an increase in the image quality in the sagittal direction

The dispersion of the available lens materials increases with shorter wavelengths. Consequently, increased chromatic image errors arise in projection objectives for short wavelengths such as 193 nm or 157 nm. The usual embodiment for 193 nm therefore has quartz glass as the flint and CaF₂ as the crown, as lens materials for achromatization.

With an overall minimum use of the problematic CaF₂, care has to be taken in that a CaF₂ lens L114 in the third lens group LG3 places an increased requirement on the homogeneity of the material, since it is arranged far from the aperture stop AP. For this purpose, however, it has a moderate diameter, which substantially improves the availability of CaF₂ with an increased requirement.

For the correction of color transverse error, three CaF₂ lenses L119, L120, L121 are arranged in the fifth lens group LG5, before the aperture stop AP. An achromat 37, consisting of a convex CaF₂ lens L122 and a following meniscus lens L123 of quartz glass are arranged directly behind the aperture stop AP. These CaF₂ lenses can be of lower quality than the CaF₂ lens L114, since quality deviations in the middle region can easily be simultaneously corrected for all image field regions (by lens rotation during adjustment).

A further CaF₂ lens L129 is arranged in the sixth lens group. It is possible by means of this lens of CaF₂ to reduce the effects of lens heating and refractive index changes due to irradiation, named compaction.

The individual data for the lenses L101-L130 can be found in Table 1. The optically utilized diameter of all the CaF₂ lenses is less than 235 mm. Since the availability of CaF₂ is furthermore limited in dependence on the diameter required, the required diameter of the CaF₂ lenses used is of central importance.

A lens arrangement 19 designed for the wavelength λ=248 nm is shown in section in FIG. 3. This lens arrangement 19 has two aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29. The first aspheric lens surface 27 is arranged on the image side on the lens L210. It can also be provided to arrange this second aspheric lens surface 27 on the side of the lens L211 facing toward the illumination device. The two lenses L210 and L211 are predetermined for the reception of the aspheric lens surface 27. Provision can also be made to provide a meniscus lens having an aspheric lens surface instead of the lenses L210 and L211. The second aspheric lens surface 29 is arranged in the end region of the first lens group, on the side of the lens L205 remote from the illumination device 3. It can also be provided to arrange this aspheric lens surface 29 on the lens L206 following thereafter in the beginning of the second lens group.

A particularly great effect is obtained when the aspherics 27, 29 are arranged on lens surfaces at which the incident rays include a large angle with the respective surface normals. In this case the large variation of the angle of incidence is important. In FIG. 10, the value of sin i at the aspheric lens surface 31 reaches a value of up to 0.82. Because of this, the two mutually facing lens surfaces of lenses L210, L211 in this embodiment have a greater effect on the course of the rays in comparison with the respective other lens surfaces of the corresponding lenses L210, L211.

With a length of 1,000 mm and a maximum lens diameter of 237.3 mm, this lens arrangement has a numerical aperture of 0.75 at a wavelength of 193.3 nm. The image field diagonal is 27.21 mm. A structure width of 0.15 μm is resolvable. The greatest deviation from the ideal wavefront is 13.0 mλ. The exact lens data with which these performance data were attained can be found in Table 2.

A further embodiment of a lens arrangement 19 for the wavelength 248.38 nm is shown in FIG. 4. This lens arrangement 19 has three lenses L305, L310, L328 which respectively have an aspheric lens surface 27, 29, 31. The aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29 have been left at the positions given by FIG. 3. The coma of riddle order can be adjusted for the image field zone by means of the aspheric lens surface 27. The repercussions on sections in the tangential direction and in the sagittal direction are then small.

The additional, third aspheric lens surface 31 is arranged on the mask side on the lens L328. The aspheric lens surface 31 supports coma correction toward the image field edge.

By means of these three aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29, 31, there are attained, at a wavelength of 248.38 nm and at a length of only 1,000 mm and a maximum lens diameter of 247.2 mm, the further increased numerical aperture of 0.77 and a structure width of 0.14 μm which can ba well resolved in the whole image field. The maximum deviation from the ideal wavefront is 12.0 mλ.

In order to keep the diameter of the lenses in LG5 small, and in order for a Petzval sum which, advantageously for the system, should be kept nearly zero, the three lenses L312, L313, L314 in the third lens group. LG3 are enlarged. The thicknesses, and thus the diameters, of other lenses, particularly the lenses of the first group LG1, have been reduced in order to furnish the required axial constructional space for these three lenses L312-L314. This is an excellent way to arrange very large image fields and apertures in a restricted constructional space.

The high image quality which is attained by this lens arrangement can be seen in FIGS. 5a-5 g, 6 a-6 g and 7 a-7 f.

FIGS. 5a-5 g give the meridional transverse aberration DYM for the image height Y′ (in mm). All show an outstanding course up to the highest DW′.

FIGS. 6a-6 g give the sagittal transverse aberrations DZS as a function of the half aperture angle DW′ for the same image heights mm).

FIGS. 7a-7 f give the groove error DYS, which is nearly zero throughout.

The exact lens data can be found in Table 3; the aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29, 31 have a consider able participation in the high image quality which can be ensured.

A further lens arrangement for the wavelength λ=248.38 nm is shown in FIG. 8. With a length of only 1,000 mm, this lens arrangement 19 has, with only three aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29, 31, a numerical aperture of 0.8; a structure width of 0.13 μM is well resolvable in the whole image field, whose diagonal is 27.21 mm. The maximum lens diameter is 255 mm and occurs in the region of the fifth lens group LG5. The lens diameter is unusually small for the numerical aperture of 0.8 at an image field having a 27.21 mm diagonal. All three aspheric lens surfaces 27,29, 31 are in the front lens groups LG1-LG3 of the lens arrangement 19. The deviation from the ideal wavefront is only 9.2 mλ in this lens arrangement.

The exact lens data of this lens arrangement can be found in Table 4.

A further increase of the numerical aperture, from 0.8 to 0.85, could be attained by the provision of a further, fourth aspheric 33 on the side of the lens L513 remote from the illuminating device. This high numerical aperture, from which there results an acceptance angle of 116.4°, as against an angle of 88.8° with a numerical aperture of 0.70, is unparalleled for the image field with diagonal 27.21 mm. The well resolvable structure width is 0.12 μm, and the maximum deviation from the ideal wavefront is only 7.0mλ. Such a lens arrangement 19 is shown in FIG. 9, and the exact lens data can be found in Table 5.

In comparison with the preceding embodiments of FIGS. 1-3 and with the cited DE 198 18 444 A, the last two lenses are united into one lens in this lens arrangement 19. By this measure, in addition to the savings in lens production, a lens mounting can be saved in the end region, so that constructional space is created for auxiliary devices, especially for a focus sensor.

A lens arrangement 19 designed for the wavelength λ=157.63 nm is shown in FIG .10. The image field which can be illuminated with this lens arrangement has been reduced to 6×13 mm, with an image field diagonal of 14.3 mm, and is adapted for the stitching process.

With a length of only 579.5 mm and a maximum diameter of 167 mm, and with four aspheric lens surfaces 27, 29, 31,33, a numerical aperture of 0.85 and a well resolvable structure width of 0.07 μm were attained. The deviation from the ideal wavefront is 9.5 mλ at the wavelength λ=157.63 nm.

The absorption of quartz lenses is quite high because of the short wavelength, so that recourse was increasingly had to CaF₂ as the lens material. Single quartz glass lenses are provided in the region of the waists 23, 25, i.e., in the second and fourth lens groups LG2 and LG4. These quartz glass lenses are to have the highest possible transmission. A further lens of quartz glass, in the form of a meniscus lens L625, is provided in the lens group LG5 to form an achromal. Furthermore in lens group LG6, the lens L628 having an aspheric lens surface is of quartz glass. The aspheric surface 33 is thus constituted of the material which is easier to process.

The color longitudinal error of this lens arrangement 19 is thus very small, even at this very high numerical aperture.

The embodiments hereinabove show that good performance data can be attained without aspheric surfaces (27, 29, 31, 33) having large diameters, especially in the fifth lens group. The small aspheric lens surfaces utilized can easily be made and tested.

These lens arrangements 19 illustrated in the embodiments show solely the design space set out by the claims. Of course, the features according to the claims and their combinations, put in concrete terms with be aid of the embodiments, can be combined with each other.

TABLE 1 m709a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 17.2886 62.436 L101 −143.20731 6.0000 SiO2 62.972 599.77254 7.6370 He 70.369 L102 −3259.25331 17.8056 SiO2 72.015 −215.68976 .7500 He 74.027 L103 6352.48088 21.0301 SiO2 79.278 −222.97760 .7500 He 80.492 L104 375.05253 22.1160 SiO2 83.813 −495.09705 .7500 He 83.813 L105 191.46102 26.2629 SiO2 81.276 −1207.32624 .7500 He 80.032 L106 180.94629 15.5881 SiO2 72.339 100.48825 25.3787 He 82.801 L107 −3031.88082 5.000 SiO2 62.147 122.14071 23.8679 He 58.984 L108 −295.91467 9.3246 SiO2 59.196 −187.69352 .7500 He 59.874 L109 −199.96963 6.0000 SiO2 59.882 184.23629 33.9482 He 62.911 L110 −112.01085 6.0000 SiO2 64.128 −684.63799A 12.5079 He 75.868 L111 −225.51622 18.6069 SiO2 78.258 −137.30628 .7500 He 81.928 L112 5312.93388 38.3345 SiO2 99.979 −178.79712 .7500 He 101.920 L113 344.71979 39.8511 SiO2 111.284 −397.29552 .7500 He 111.237 L114 166.51327 39.6778 CAF2 101.552 7755.09540 .7500 He 99.635 L115 195.28524 23.8921 SiO2 87.267 119.99272 32.2730 He 72.012 L116 −152.93918 6.0000 SiO2 70.763 287.33119 20.7820 He 88.677 L117 −218.82578 6.0000 SiO2 86.150 166.44429 40.5757 He 86.003 L118 −103.90786 5.4932 SiO2 66.694 5916.68891 13.3336 He 80.535 L119 −344.93456 19.8584 CAF2′ 82.790 −165.11801 .7500 He 86.174 L120 −11871.72431 38.5095 CAF2 100.670 −174.34079 .7500 He 102.866 L121 586.98079 31.6915 CAF2 111.739 −414.20537 .7500 He 112.097 infinity 3.6849 He 111.399 stop .0000 He 111.399 infinity 1.2566 He 111.830 L122 284.64742 45.7670 CAF2 114.801 −414.78783 17.9539 He 114.410 L123 −234.72451 14.5097 SiO2 113.052 −593.08647 14.7730 He 114.454 L124 −323.13587 42.1874 SiO2 114.235 −229.06128 .7500 He 117.505 L125 180.27184 31.4105 SiO2 105.659 652.02194 .7500 He 103.698 L126 143.20049 28.2444 SiO2 91.476 383.51531 14.7177 He 88.206 L127 −2122.47818 14.1140 SiO2 85.843 312.60012 1.3119 He 74.815 L128 111.82162 46.5147 SiO2 66.708 53.69539 2.2604 He 40.084 L129 51.14857 27.3776 CAF2 39.074 492.53747 3.7815 He 32.621 infinity 3.0000 SiO2 29.508 infinity 12.0000 27.848 infinity 14.021 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 21] EX = 0.0000 C1 = 0.61839643 · 10⁻⁴ C2 = 0.11347761 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.32783915 · 10⁻¹⁶ C4 = 0.22000186 · 10⁻²⁰

TABLE 2 m736a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 16.6148 60.752 L201 −140.92104 7.0000 SiO2 61.267 −4944.48962 4.5190 67.230 L202 −965.90856 16.4036 SiO2 68.409 −191.79393 .7500 70.127 L203 18376.81346 16.5880 SiO2 73.993 −262.28779 .7500 74.959 L204 417.82018 21.1310 SiO2 77.129 −356.78055 .7500 77.193 L205 185.38468 23.3034 SiO2 74.782 −1198.61550A .7500 73.634 L206 192.13950 11.8744 SiO2 68.213 101.15610 27.6353 61.022 L207 −404.17514 7.0000 SiO2 60.533 129.70591 24.1893 58.732 L208 −236.98146 7.0584 SiO2 59.144 −203.88450 .7500 60.201 L209 −241.72595 7.0000 SiO2 80.490 196.25453 33.3115 65.017 L210 −122.14995 7.0000 SiO2 65.412 −454.65265A 10.8840 77.783 L211 −263.01247 22.6024 SiO2 81.685 −149.71102 1.6818 85.708 L212 −23862.31899 43.2680 SiO2 104.023 −168.87798 .7500 108.012 L213 340.37670 44.9408 SiO2 115.503 −355.50943 .7500 115.398 L214 160.11879 41.8645 SiO2 102.982 4450.50491 .7500 100.763 L215 172.51429 14.8161 SiO2 85.869 116.88490 35.9100 74.187 L216 −395.45894 7.0000 SiO2 72.771 178.01469 28.0010 68.083 L217 −176.03301 7.0000 SiO2 55.613 188.41213 36.7224 66.293 L218 −112.43820 7.0059 SiO2 66.917 883.42330 17.1440 80.240 L219 −350.01763 19.1589 SiO2 82.329 −194.58551 .7514 87.159 L220 −8249.50149 35.3686 SiO2 89.995 −213.88820 .7500 103.494 L221 657.56358 31.3375 SiO2 114.555 −428.74102 .0000 115.245 infinity 2.8420 116.016 stop .0000 116.016 L222 820.30582 27.7457 SiO2 118.196 −520.84842 18.4284 118.605 L223 330.19055 37.7586 SiO2 118.273 −672.92481 23.8692 117.550 L224 −233.67936 10.0000 SiO2 116.625 −538.42527 10.4141 117.109 L225 −340.26626 21.8583 SiO2 116.879 −224.85656 .7500 117.492 L226 146.67143 34.5675 SiO2 100.303 436.70958 .7500 97.643 L227 135.52851 29.8244 SiO2 85.066 284.57463 18.9234 79.427 L228 −7197.04545 11.8089 SiO2 72.964 268.01973 .7500 63.351 L229 100.56453 27.8623 SiO2 62.628 43.02551 2.0994 38.612 L230 42.30652 30.9541 SiO2 36.023 262.65551 1.9528 28.009 infinity 12.0000 27.482 infinity 13.602 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 29] EX = −0.17337407 · 10³ C1 = 0.15292522 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = 0.18756271 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = −0.40702661 · 10⁻¹⁶ C4 = 0.26178919 · 10⁻¹⁹ C5 = −0.36300252 · 10⁻²² C6 = 0.42405765 · 10⁻²⁷ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 27] EX = −0.38949981 · 10³ C1 = 0.20355563 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = −0.22884234 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = −0.23852814 · 10⁻¹⁶ C4 = −0.19091022 · 10⁻¹⁹ C5 = 0.27737562 · 10⁻²³ C6 = −0.29709825 · 10⁻²⁷

TABLE 3 m745a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 17.8520 60.958 L301 −131.57692 7.0000 SiO2 61.490 −195.66940 .7500 64.933 L302 −254.68368 8.4334 SiO2 65.844 −201.64480 .7500 67.386 L303 −775.65764 14.0058 SiO2 69.629 −220.44596 .7500 70.578 L304 589.58638 18.8952 SiO2 72.689 −308.25184 .7500 72.876 L305 202.68033 20.7802 SiO2 71.232 −1120.20883A .7500 70.282 L306 203.03395 12.1137 SiO2 65.974 102.61512 26.3989 59.566 L307 −372.05336 7.0000 SiO2 59.203 144.40889 23.3866 58.326 L308 −207.93626 7.0303 SiO2 58.790 −184.85938 .7500 69.985 L309 −201.97720 7.0000 SiO2 60.229 214.87718 33.1495 65.721 L310 −121.80702 7.0411 SiO2 67.235 −398.26353A 9.7571 79.043 L311 −242.40314 22.4966 SiO2 81.995 −146.76339 .7553 87.352 L312 −2729.19964 45.3237 SiO2 104.995 −158.37001 .7762 107.211 L313 356.37642 52.1448 SiO2 118.570 −341.95165 1.1921 118.519 L314 159.83842 44.6276 SiO2 105.627 2234.72586 .7698 102.722 L315 172.14697 16.8360 SiO2 88.037 119.53455 36.6804 75.885 L316 −382.62198 7.0000 SiO2 74.245 171.18767 29.4986 67.272 L317 −178.75022 7.0000 SiO2 68.843 186.50720 36.4380 67.935 L318 −113.94008 7.0213 SiO2 68.850 893.30270 17.7406 82.870 L319 −327.77804 18.9809 SiO2 85.090 −192.72640 .7513 89.918 L320 −3571.89972 34.3608 SiO2 103.882 −209.35555 .7500 105.573 L321 676.38083 32.8220 SiO2 119.191 −449.16650 .0000 119.960 infinity 2.8420 120.991 stop .0000 120.991 L322 771.53843 30.6490 SiO2 123.568 −525.59771 13.4504 124.005 L323 330.53202 40.0766 SiO2 123.477 −712.47666 23.6787 122.707 L324 −250.00950 10.0000 SiO2 121.877 −613.10270 14.8392 121.995 L325 −344.62259 20.3738 SiO2 121.081 −239.53067 .7500 121.530 L326 146.13385 34.7977 SiO2 102.544 399.32557 .7510 99.992 L327 132.97289 29.7786 SiO2 87.899 294.53397 18.8859 82.024 L328 −3521.27938A 11.4951 SiO2 75.848 287.11066 .7814 85.798 L329 103.24804 27.8802 SiO2 58.287 41.64288 1.9089 36.734 L330 41.28081 31.0202 SiO2 36.281 279.03201 1.9528 28.934 infinity 12.0000 28.382 infinity 13.603 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 29] EX = −0.16784083 · 10³ C1 = 0.49500479 · 10⁻⁸ C2 = 0.31354487 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = −0.55827200 · 10⁻¹⁶ C4 = 0.44873095 · 10⁻¹⁹ C5 = −0.73057048 · 10²³ C6 = 0.91524489 · 10⁻²⁷ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 27] EX = −0.22247325 · 10¹ C1 = 0.24479896 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = −0.22713172 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.36324126 · 10⁻¹⁶ C4 = −0.17823989 · 10⁻¹⁹ C5 = 0.26799048 · 10⁻²³ C6 = −0.27403392 · 10⁻²⁷

TABLE 4 m791a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 11.4557 61.339 L401 −273.19566 7.0000 SiO2 62.263 −277.09708 .7000 63.765 L402 −861.38886 8.9922 SiO2 64.989 −339.28281 .7000 65.826 L403 118124.13719 11.2867 SiO2 66.916 −365.70154 .7000 67.416 L404 685.10936 13.1661 SiO2 67.995 −485.98278 .7000 68.012 L405 387.55973 17.2335 SiO2 67.247 −473.09537A .7000 66.728 L406 268.03965 9.9216 SiO2 62.508 149.12863 23.8122 58.631 L407 −184.82383 7.0000 SiO2 58.029 176.80719 21.4194 57.646 L408 −186.59114 7.0000 SiO2 58.045 218.73570 29.5024 63.566 L409 −129.31068 7.0000 SiO2 65.030 −531.44773A 17.2306 76.481 L410 −307.52016 22.4527 SiO2 85.843 −148.36184 .7000 86.946 L411 −1302.18676 41.0518 SiO2 105.065 −162.48723 .7000 107.106 L412 621.18978 41.1387 SiO2 118.007 −294.49119 .7000 118.347 L413 180.08951 49.7378 SiO2 109.803 −2770.71439A .7000 107.961 L414 152.16529 16.7403 SiO2 89.160 106.43163 39.9369 76.189 L415 −530.65958 7.0000 SiO2 74.955 170.83853 31.4993 58.381 L416 −154.61084 7.0000 SiO2 67.993 252.85931 36.2904 69.679 L417 −113.57141 8.4328 SiO2 70.272 772.56149 21.7682 85.377 L418 −278.33295 16.4890 SiO2 87.710 −198.24799 .8689 92.554 L419 −3464.64038 37.5900 SiO2 107.590 −214.63481 1.1929 111.045 L420 2970.07848 32.3261 SiO2 122.434 −350.93217 2.5303 123.849 L421 1499.34255 25.8285 SiO2 127.128 −561.19644 .0000 127.371 infinity .7510 126.559 stop .0000 126.559 L422 821.09016 39.5191 SiO2 127.453 −1995.20557 .7000 127.499 L423 337.02437 41.8147 SiO2 126.519 −659.23025 25.0233 125.851 L424 −242.88584 7.0000 SiO2 124.960 −691.19390 9.7905 125.057 L425 −492.17516 41.0678 SiO2 124.887 −242.55195 .7000 125.845 L426 145.04614 37.2406 SiO2 104.033 406.88892 .7008 101.079 L427 119.31280 31.5532 SiO2 85.742 249.59473 15.2917 79.561 L428 1411.93157 7.8700 SiO2 74.994 281.90273 .7011 66.830 L429 143.95136 55.0835 SiO2 61.517 404.13980 15.0000 32.177 infinity .0001 13.603 infinity 13.603 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 27] EX = 0.45321787 · 10² C1 = 0.12027601 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = −0.16206398 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = −0.41686011 · 10⁻¹³ C4 = 0.38440137 · 10⁻¹⁸ C5 = −0.15095918 · 10⁻²³ C6 = −0.84812561 · 10⁻²⁸ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 29] EX = 0 C1 = −0.97452539 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = 0.32591078 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.97426255 · 10⁻¹⁵ C4 = −0.846124 · 10⁻²⁰ C5 = −0.12332031 · 10⁻²³ C6 = 0.14443713 · 10⁻²⁷ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 33] EX = 0 C1 = 0.53144137 · 10⁻⁸ C2 = 0.21837618 · 10⁻¹² C3 = 0.22801998 · 10⁻¹⁸ C4 = −0.87807963 · 10⁻²¹ C5 = 0.42592446 · 10⁻²⁵ C6 = −0.85709164 · 10⁻³⁰

TABLE 5 j430a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 9.9853 61.549 L501 −265.92669 6.0000 SiO2 61.549 857.92226 5.9813 65.916 L502 −2654.69270 14.4343 SiO2 66.990 −244.65590 .7500 68.482 L503 1038.40194 15.9955 SiO2 71.883 −333.95446 .7500 72.680 L504 359.47552 18.5128 SiO2 74.430 −532.57816 .7500 74.416 L505 213.38035 21.4562 SiO2 72.985 −1441.22634A .7500 72.045 L506 251.90156 6.6306 SiO2 67.809 115.92184 28.4856 62.818 L507 −267.21040 6.0000 SiO2 62.411 175.09702 23.2443 61.923 L508 −213.08557 6.0000 SiO2 62.365 199.61141 30.8791 68.251 L509 −158.73046 6.0337 SiO2 69.962 −1108.92217A 10.9048 81.119 L510 −314.37706 20.6413 SiO2 84.163 −169.59197 .8014 88.902 L511 −3239.97175 43.6396 SiO2 106.289 −168.44726 .7500 108.724 L512 495.41910 48.8975 SiO2 123.274 −288.85737 .7500 123.687 L513 153.24868 48.7613 SiO2 113.393 920.32139A .7500 111.134 L514 163.02502 15.7110 SiO2 96.188 124.97610 44.2564 84.961 L515 −422.99493 6.0000 SiO2 83.633 184.80620 31.4985 76.498 L516 −241.93022 6.0000 SiO2 76.180 168.30899 51.3978 77.396 L517 −117.43130 8.5332 SiO2 78.345 2476.47953 21.4666 98.469 L518 −311.36041 15.2223 SiO2 101.209 −221.58556 .7500 105.324 L519 −934.37047 37.6781 SiO2 122.239 −216.75809 .7500 125.425 L520 3623.94786 39.6266 SiO2 146.583 −370.69232 1.1289 148.219 L521 1209.82944 39.1543 SiO2 157.194 −613.71745 .0000 157.954 infinity .7500 158.061 stop .0000 158.061 L522 709.88915 36.2662 SiO2 160.170 −1035.75798 .7500 160.137 L523 313.44889 58.8000 SiO2 155.263 −1046.56219 28.7484 183.730 L524 −328.67790 15.0000 SiO2 152.447 −1283.32936 14.7084 148.826 L525 −540.24577 23.9839 SiO2 148.336 −305.19883 .7610 148.189 L526 152.28321 42.3546 SiO2 114.055 384.50964 .7531 109.924 L527 124.88784 31.8554 SiO2 91.106 279.80513 16.6796 86.038 L528 −28987.53974 7.4387 SiO2 82.126 316.02224 .8631 72.044 L529 160.51161 54.1269 SiO2 67.036 1341.25511 15.0000 37.374 infinity .0001 13.604 infinity 13.604 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 29] EX = −0.27012883 · 10³ C1 = −0.48014089 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = 0.30075830 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.34922943 · 10⁻¹⁵ C4 = 0.26946301 · 10⁻¹⁸ C5 = −0.58250631 · 10⁻²³ C6 = 0.68991391 · 10⁻²⁷ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 27] EX = 0.41249481 · 10¹ C1 = −0.38239182 · 10⁻⁸ C2 = −0.14976009 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = −0.25206193 · 10⁻¹⁸ C4 = −0.78282128 · 10⁻²⁰ C5 = 0.13017800 · 10⁻²³ C6 = −0.14205614 · 10⁻²⁷ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 33] EX = 0.26320110 · 10¹ C1 = 0.27448935 · 10⁻⁸ C2 = −0.18100074 · 10⁻¹² C3 = 0.58696756 · 10⁻¹⁷ C4 = −0.58955753 · 10⁻²¹ C5 = 0.16526308 · 10⁻²² C6 = −0.25708759 · 10⁻³⁰ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 31] EX = −095885859 · 10³ C1 = −0.42411179 · 10⁻⁸ C2 = 0.12306068 · 10⁻¹² C3 = 0.69229786 · 10⁻¹⁷ C4 = 0.80135737 · 10⁻²⁰ C5 = −0.14022540 · 10⁻²³ C6 = 0.79827308 · 10⁻²⁸

TABLE 6 m767a ½ × Lens Lenses Radii Thicknesses Glasses Diameter infinity 5.9005 N2 32.429 L601 −125.95821 3.6410 CAF2 32.780 243.24465 5.2309 He 35.323 L602 2472.77263 9.2265 CAF2 35.825 −132.46523 .3958 He 37.854 L603 544.60759 8.6087 CAF2 40.080 −188.98512 .6007 He 40.516 L604 180.26444 10.3984 CAF2 41.764 −394.70139 .4244 He 41.743 L605 101.06312 12.8236 CAF2 40.955 −691.58627A .5111 He 40.455 L606 135.75849 3.1245 CAF2 37.653 57.03094 18.2395 He 34.284 L607 −268.26919 5.9149 CAF2 33.871 116.53689 10.9654 He 33.188 L608 −142.54676 3.2195 SiO2 33.372 100.09171 16.1921 He 35.380 L609 −83.03185 3.2311 SiO2 36.264 −453.73264A 5.1711 He 41.718 L610 −167.92924 12.0560 CAF2 43.453 −93.29791 .4204 He 47.010 L611 −1270.48545 24.2891 CAF2 56.224 −90.89540 1.1471 He 58.224 L612 256.81271 25.6379 CAF2 66.498 −171.23687 .3519 He 66.755 L613 82.41217 26.8409 CAF2 61.351 529.17259A .5132 He 60.098 L614 81.87977 8.2278 CAF2 50.462 84.06535 22.9801 He 44.346 L615 −259.83061 3.3437 SiO2 43.473 124.29419 13.5357 He 40.286 L616 −197.29109 3.0000 SiO2 39.809 67.83707 24.6813 He 39.571 L617 −64.97274 4.6170 SiO2 40.050 1947.71288 9.3909 He 49.830 L618 −182.16003 7.8052 CAF2 51.480 −118.82950 .3753 He 53.449 L619 −633.93522 19.7976 CAF2 83.119 −115.14087 .3708 He 84.793 L620 2647.04517 19.8039 CAF2 75.458 −197.41705 2.7167 He 76.413 L621 668.45083 30.1057 CAF2 81.369 −322.45899 .0001 He 82.659 infinity .3948 He 82.583 stop .0000 82.583 L622 395.84774 16.8754 CAF2 83.488 −635.79877 .3500 He 83.449 L623 165.28880 28.1341 CAF2 80.761 −598.21798 15.6657 He 80.133 L624 −175.54365 7.9803 SiO2 79.485 −571.27581 9.7972 He 78.592 L625 −265.73712 11.6714 CAF2 78.015 −156.05301 .3500 He 78.036 L626 79.45912 22.6348 CAF2 60.151 199.26460 .3500 He 57.925 L627 67.01872 16.8836 CAF2 48.063 140.01631 8.6050 He 45.305 L628 2265.71693A .0938 SiO2 43.177 167.06050 2.0915 He 38.352 L629 10.24013 24.5664 CAF2 34.878 662.00758 9.4740 N2 22.044 UNENDL .0001 N2 7.166 UNENDL 7.166 Aspheric Constants: Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 29] EX = −0.7980946 · 10² C1 = −0.21353640 · 10⁻⁶ C2 = 0.56257 · 10¹⁰ C3 = −0.39122939 · 10⁻¹⁴ C4 = −0.24089788 · 10⁻¹⁸ C5 = 0.30268982 · 10⁻²² C6 = −0.1437923 · 10⁻²⁵ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 27] EX = 0.1860595 · 10¹ C1 = −0.12449719 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = −0.39585 · 10⁻¹⁰ C3 = −0.10241741 · 10⁻¹⁴ C4 = −0.19831485 · 10⁻¹⁷ C5 = 0.11604236 · 10⁻²⁰ C6 = −0.4689564 · 10⁻²⁴ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 33] EX = 0.1614147 · 10¹ C1 = 0.14130608 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = −0.9747553 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.20478884 · 10⁻¹³ C4 = −0.17732282 · 10⁻¹⁸ C5 = 0.29715991 · 10⁻²² C6 = −0.19032521 · 10⁻²⁶ Coefficients of the aspheric surface n: [where n is 31] EX = 0 C1 = −0.18139679 · 10⁻⁷ C2 = 0.26109059 · 10⁻¹¹ C3 = 0.23340548 · 10⁻¹⁴ C4 = 0.29943791 · 10⁻¹⁷ C5 = −0.13595787 · 10⁻²⁰ C6 = 0.21788235 · 10⁻²⁴ 

What is claimed is:
 1. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group consisting of lenses with spherical surfaces, said fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface.
 2. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens at the end of said second lens group is the last lens of the second lens group.
 3. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens at the beginning of said third lens group is the first lens of said third lens.
 4. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens arrangement has only one lens having an aspheric surface.
 5. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said sixth lens group has a first lens having an aspheric surface.
 6. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein a last lens of said third lens group has an aspheric surface.
 7. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens arrangement does not exceed a maximum lens diameter of 280 mm.
 8. The projection objective according to claim 7, wherein said lens arrangement does not exceed a maximum lens diameter of 250 mm.
 9. The projection objective according to claim 1, having an objective side and an image side, wherein said lens arrangement has on said image side a numerical aperture of at least 0.75.
 10. The projection objective according to claim 9, wherein said lens arrangement has on said image side a numerical aperture of 0.8.
 11. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens arrangement comprises at least two different materials.
 12. The projection objective according to claim 11, wherein said different materials comprise quartz glass and a fluoride or two fluorides.
 13. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said lens arrangement comprises a positive lens comprised of CaF₂, followed by a negative lens of quartz glass, for formation of an achromat.
 14. The projection objective according to claim 1, wherein said sixth lens group comprises a lens of CaF₂.
 15. The projection objective for microlithography according to claim 1, wherein the diameter said lens having an aspheric surface is smaller than 90% of the maximum diameter of said lens arrangement.
 16. The projection objective according to claim 15, wherein the diameter of said lens having an aspheric surface is smaller than 80% of the maximum diameter of said lens arrangement.
 17. A projection exposure device for microlithography, comprising a projection objective according to claim
 1. 18. The projection objective comprising a lens arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said lens arrangement has a high numerical aperture on an objective output side, and all lenses of said lens arrangement have sine values of all angles of incidence of radiation striking a respective lens that are always smaller than the numerical aperture of said lens arrangement.
 19. The projection objective according to claim 18, wherein said numerical aperture is in the region of 0.85.
 20. The projection objective comprising a lens arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the maximum diameter of lenses of said third lens group is at least 10% smaller than the maximum diameter of lenses of said fifth lens group.
 21. The projection objective comprising a lens arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one aspheric lens surface is acted on with an angle loading of at least sin i=0.75.
 22. A process for the production of microstructured components, comprising: exposing a substrate provided with a photosensitive layer with ultraviolet light by means of a mask and a projection exposure device with a lens arrangement according to claim 1, and, if necessary after development of said photosensitive layer, structuring said substrate corresponding to a pattern contained on said mask.
 23. A projection objective having a lens arrangement having a lens arrangement having at least a first waist of a pencil of rays, wherein said lens arrangement comprises at least one of the following: a lens having an aspheric surface arranged before said first waist, a lens having an aspheric surface arranged after said first waist, and lenses having aspheric surfaces arranged before and after said first waist, wherein at least two spherical lenses are arranged between said lenses having aspheric surfaces, wherein a lens having an aspheric surface is arranged in said second lens group before said waist.
 24. The projection objective according to claim 23, wherein said lens arrangement has a first lens group having positive power, a second lens group having negative power, a third lens group having negative power, a fourth lens group consisting of lenses with spherical surfaces, said fourth lens group having negative power, and a fifth and sixth lens group respectively having positive power, wherein said first lens group has a lens having an aspheric surface.
 25. The projection objective according to claim 24, wherein said third lens group has a lens having an aspheric surface.
 26. The projection objective according to claim 23, further comprising an aperture stop wherein at least a last two positive lenses before said aperture stop are comprised of CaF₂.
 27. A projection exposure device for microlithography, comprising an excimer laser light source emitting radiation of wavelength shorter than 250 mm, and a projection objective according to claim
 26. 28. A refractive microlithographic projection objective, having a lens arrangement comprising at least one lens with an aspheric lens surface, wherein all aspheric lens surfaces have a vertex radius (R) of at least 350-1,000 mm.
 29. A refractive microlithographic projection objective, having a lens arrangement comprising at least one lens with an aspheric lens surface, wherein all aspheric lens surfaces have a vertex radius (R) is greater than 1,000 mm.
 30. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface; and wherein said lens at the end of said second lens group is the last lens of the second lens group.
 31. The projection objective according to claim 30, wherein said lens at the beginning of said third lens group is the first lens of said third group.
 32. The projection objective according to claim 30, wherein said lens arrangement has only one lens having as aspheric surface.
 33. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive powers; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and wherein a last lens of said third lens group has an aspheric surface.
 34. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and wherein said lens arrangement does not exceed a maximum lens diameter of 280 mm.
 35. The projection objective according to claim 34, wherein said lens arrangement does not exceed a maximum lens diameter of 250 mm.
 36. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and the projection objective having an object side and an image side, wherein said lens arrangement has on said image side a numerical aperture of 0.8.
 37. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and wherein said sixth lens group comprises a lens of CaF₂.
 38. The projection objective according to claim 37, wherein said numerical aperture is in the region of 0.85.
 39. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and wherein the maximum diameter of lenses of said third lens group is at least 10% smaller than the maximum diameter of lenses of said fifth lens group.
 40. A projection objective for microlithography having a lens arrangement comprising: a first lens group having positive power; a second lens group having negative power; a third lens group having positive power; a fourth lens group having negative power; a fifth lens group having positive power; and a sixth lens group having positive power; wherein a lens at the end of said second lens group, or a lens at the beginning of said third lens group, has an aspheric surface, and wherein at least one aspheric lens surface is acted on with an angle loading of at least sin i=0.75. 